I know it's a bit late but I found it in a bookstore 2 days ago. One that never had Ellen Kushner's stuff in it before. Finished reading it. Joy.

I don't think anything later could top the earlier "Swordspoint" but I like this one better than "The Fall of the Kings". Somewhat bubbly, what, with the teenage girls, but Alec and all the other adult plottings makes up for it. Feels Utena or Rose of Versaille other times, a divergent from the male perspectives of the series.

Alec still remains my favorite character. Richard, my second. They're just so crazy, it's fun. I have a list of favorite characters somewhere but they all usually follow some sort of pattern. I think it's the ability to see through to the basis of things (sorry, I'm not really wording it out correctly, it's late and I'm sleepy). And that's what Alec does. He doesn't care about social norms and he hates their rules. Basically, he is a scholar to the bone and applies what he thinks is the ideal truth to his very thoughts. Although, some other times, he's just thoughtless and scary...

I really enjoyed the anticlimax at the end. I completely did not expect that and it certainly did not happen with the last two books.

*Spoilers*
I like to link the title "The Privilege of the Sword" to the anticlimax where Alec killed Ferris. I laughed my butt off there. "The Duke Tremontaine considered the statue. It had little bits of skin and hair on it." lol rofl
Anyways. The privilege of the sword is what allows noblemen to kill noblemen, but swordsmenship now isn't taken seriously as it used to be. And Ferris certainly did offend a lot of people, raped Artemisia, angered Katherine, had Lucius beat up, and Alec had always hated him since the first book. I suppose it is appropriate in the end for Alec to get to the point and actually kill another nobleman himself instead of having a swordsman do it. It's what he does. He breaks laws, but in the most amusing sort of ways.

"You didn't get here in time, so I had to kill Ferris myself" The duke waited a moment for the full effect.
"Did you?" his friend [Richard] asked curiously. "How?"
"Eclectically. But conclusively."

Oh the hilarity that is Alec.

And Richard going blind. All the way through I can't help but think: the blind swordsman, lol

*end spoilers*

If you are a fan of yaoi, you should read "Swordspoint" at least once if you haven't already. You know, if you're interested in intrigue, revenge and stuff.

Although the Alec and Richard relationship, while very interesting, confused me. Richard seems like a nice person...sort of. But one minute they're having sex, and the next, they're strangling each other? I understood that in Swordspoint I think, but the reasons for it in The Privilege of the Sword is not so clear for me.